Just after 2:20 in the morning, when most of Vancouver, Washington was asleep, a 19-year-old behind the wheel managed to leave a trail of destruction that reads less like a police report and more like a checklist for a demolition derby. A fence. A house. Several parked cars. And, as a finale, a tree. If the goal was to hit as many stationary objects as possible in a single run down SE 20th Street, the score was impressive. The outcome, however, was anything but.
Officers with the Vancouver Police Department responded to the 18900 block of SE 20th Street just after 2:20 a.m. to find the vehicle had departed the roadway while heading westbound and proceeded to interact aggressively with its surroundings. By the time the car came to rest, a fence had been knocked down, a residence had been struck, multiple parked vehicles had been hit, and the car had come to a stop against a tree. Responding fire crews found the vehicle rolled onto its side, its rear end lifted off the ground by the tree it had met at the end of its run.
The 19-year-old driver, the sole occupant of the vehicle, appeared to have been ejected during the rollover. He was conscious and alert when emergency personnel arrived, but was transported to a local hospital with what police described as serious injuries. Shortly after, officers determined he had been driving under the influence. He was arrested for DUI, a charge that will follow him considerably longer than the injuries will…